LOUVAIN’S ART TREASURES.

The ancient Tuchhalle, which was used for university
and library purposes, was completely destroyed by
fire, with the exception of the front and rear facades
in Gothic and Renaissance style. The library,
with its very valuable treasures of manuscripts and
books, was therefore a total loss. Officials
of the library who might have called attention to
the saving of the imperiled treasures were not present
when the adjoining houses on both sides of the hall
caught fire, and no hope exists that any of the books
or manuscripts, or even parts thereof, might be found
in the ruins.

Apart from this—­by far the worst damage—­and
the partial destruction by fire of the Cathedral of
St. Peter no other losses of extraordinary importance
took place at Louvain.

The Rathaus, or City Hall, in late Gothic style, under
reconstruction for several years and on which work
has not been finished yet, was saved, thanks to the
orders of the commander, Major von Manteuffel, who
ordered that the burning houses on the right side of
the City Hall be leveled to the ground. The military
removed from a cellar of the City Hall a quantity
of ammunition which threatened to explode through
extreme heat of the fire. Four soldiers were severely
injured thereby. The Rathaus, thanks to the precautions
taken by the German military, and in spite of its
nearness to the conflagration, was not damaged in the
interior, nor did its rich outer architecture suffer
any at all.

The roof of the Cathedral of St. Peter, which was
set afire by sparks from adjoining buildings, was
very considerably damaged, however only to such an
extent as to allow its restoration to the original
condition. The roof frame is burned to the beginning
of the curve of the dome. The inner ceiling has
prevented the fire from spreading to the inner part
of the church, containing rich art treasures.
Above the choir, however, the inner ceiling gave way,
thereby partially damaging the upper part of the rococo
altar of stone which was without any particular artistic
value.

The small sacrament house standing next to the altar—­a
very fine and rich stonework of late Gothic style
by the builder of the City Hall, M. de Layens—­has
been slightly damaged by the collapse of the ceiling,
which chipped off the upper phiales. These broken
pieces have been collected without any substantial
loss and can easily be replaced. The damage to
the sacrament house can therefore be replaced.
Close to the main portal of the cathedral, following
the fire in the bell tower, the falling bells pierced
the roof. Near the entrance in the southerly part
of the church at the right side the fire did some damage
to the walls and the stone balustrades in the side
chapel. Notable art treasures have, however,
not been damaged. Only the ventilator in the main
portal, a beautiful Renaissance carving, (of wood,)
was burned. An ancient glass painting of the
seventeenth century remained undamaged.